Cuong Vu

Trumpeter Cuong Vu is an internationally renowned performer and is looked to as a leader, shaping the future of improvised music. I met Cuong for the first time a little over a year ago when he joined us, teaching at the University of Washington Summer Jazz Workshop. I found him to be a quiet, but insightful person. With credits like his, it would be easy to simply cop an attitude of having seen and done it all. This is not the case with Cuong, nor has it been the case with any of the truly great musicians I've known in my life. Cuong is humble, always listening carefully to what is being said and played. He is the opposite of complacency, always working, always improving, always learning something new. He has strong opinions, the result of a lot of thought and practice, but I don't feel that he would ever close the door on a new way of seeing a situation.

With all of that said, trying to communicate this about Cuong in a photo was a challenge. When I contacted Cuong about participating in the project, I didn't have a photo concept in mind. Over time I thought about what I felt would work and considered a variety of ideas. When I visualize an image, it's really more about trying to communicate a feeling, I think about the person, I think about their personality and I think about what I know about the subject in their life outside of music or whatever they are known for.

I knew I wanted something with a serious vibe for Cuong, although I did consider one humorous concept that I'll save for another subject. With Cuong, I wanted something direct. That was about as far as I could get. I ran through I variety of ideas. I had an idea and had scheduled a session where I wanted to have Cuong leaning against a wall on side of the frame at night, with a busy urban street on the other side. I wanted the image to be split in two, with a dramatic swath of light diagonally illuminating Cuong. I liked the idea but hit a roadblock when scouting a location. I just couldn't find a spot I liked. I shelved the idea and considered using another location, scheduled a session with Cuong, only to find that the city had closed access to the area temporarily. This brought me to the location we used, a short walk into the woods behind my house.

One of my initial ideas had been to shoot Cuong in black and white, with some kind of cucoloris behind him, his face lit with strong shadows around his head. I went back to this idea but instead choose to have a blurred, wooded backdrop. I lit Cuong with a single strobe fitted with a 20 degree grid. I ran it across his face, with the initial idea of shooting him from eye level. Over the course of shooting a few test frames with a digital SLR, I starting shooting from below and liked the feel. I switched to film and shot a roll. After seeing the digital images, I was really struck by his expression in two of the shots and I loved the way the light framed his face. I couldn't wait to see if I had had the some luck with the film. Switching from one camera to the next is always an opportunity for everything to subtly change. In the end, the film shots were beautiful, I loved the shadow transitions and the tone, but I was a little lower in perspective than the digital and it was enough to change the entire vibe. So, in the end I went with the digital shot.

I really like this shot. I think it really portrays what I had in mind and I think it matches the intensity and directness of Cuong's interview. Furthermore, I feel like this picture involved a bit of a risk on my part. It's really unlike anything I've shot as one has to be careful when shooting with a small, focused hard light. But, I think Cuong's music is about taking chances, so I think it was the best time to hang something out there and see if it would stick. I feel like it's sticking pretty well.

Here is a link to Cuong's interview: http://seattlejazzscene.com/?p=2245

Here's a link to Cuong's website:

http://www.cuongvu.com/

Technical info:

The image was shot with a Canon 5D MK II w/ef 24-70 2.8L USM at f/7.1 1/60th, ISO 100.

The lighting was provided by a White Lightning WL X1600 fitted with a 20 degree grid.

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